India itinerary

After some refinements and a bit of drama with the travel agent who withdrew contact for a period, the new itinerary for India has at last firmed itself.

The Himalayas draw me to India with greater urgency than any other region. The initial plan for the yoga retreat and then trekking in Rishikesh would have been fulfilling in this regard. Well, there is no sense raging against the elements especially when the time to react is precious. The new plan is to postpone the trip as far as possible without conflicting with work assignments to accord us enough time for proper logistic arrangements. The upside to the new plan is that my friend Tom in California is now joining my parents and I.

In researching India the past couple of weeks it's become apparent that one will need several trips to achieve a fair overall perspective. The cultures, history, geography, customs, religions, they are vast and varied. The three regions of focus for this trip shall be:

(Start Oct 29th)

• Rajasthan - Udaipur and Jaipur
• Karnataka - Hampi-Vijayanagar
• Kerala - Wayanad and Kochi

(End Nov 16th)

In particular, there is excitement to see at last the birthplace of my maternal grandfather in Kerala. His Fernandez lineage is the source of my Portuguese ancestry.